Chapter 20 #2
“Shh!” I hissed, lifting a finger to my lips.
“No noise.” He let out two more barks, both louder than the first, and began bouncing all over the place as I tried to clip his leash to his collar.
“Roscoe, no. No. Sit still. Sit. Sit.” The harder I tried to catch him, the more rambunctious he got, evading me at every turn and barking his head off.
“That’s it. No treats for you when we get home. You’ll get your food, but no. Treats.”
He stopped, cocking his head to the side with that damn tongue hanging out.
“All right. Fine. I’ll let you have one treat. But that’s it. Now stop looking at me like that.”
I finally clipped his leash into place and got him out of the car, but it was too late.
“Dani! You got a puppy!”
Roscoe went nuts, barking and tugging at his leash in an attempt to meet Macie halfway as she darted across the street. As soon as she reached us, she went down on her knees to pet my baby boy, giving him the perfect opportunity to lick every inch of her face.
Macie let out a giggle so cute I couldn’t help but smile as she looked up at me. “What’s his name?”
“His name’s Roscoe. Roscoe, meet Macie.”
To see my dog just then, you’d have thought he’d never had human interaction a day in his life. He’d fallen head over heels for her, not that I blamed him. Macie Drake was absolutely lovable.
“He’s so cute,” she cooed, laughing and dodging his wet kisses as she petted him all over.
As much as I’d tried avoiding it, my gaze wandered, moving up and across the street to see the rest of the Drake clan had come outside with Macie and were heading our way. Hardin was hanging back moving slower than his dad and grandfather, looking at me with unconcealed anger that gutted me.
“When did you get him?” Macie asked, drawing my attention to her just as the rest of her family joined us in my parents’ driveway.
Leo went down into a squat beside his daughter, rubbing Roscoe behind the ears, and my sweet pup nearly died of happiness right there, falling down and rolling to his back in a brash demand for belly rubs. “I adopted him from the shelter yesterday.”
Leo’s head jerked up. Those olive-green eyes hit me, filled with sadness that I couldn’t bear to look at, so I quickly turned away.
“He’s a good lookin’ fella, Dani,” Jed said sweetly.
“Thanks,” I offered him a small grin.
“He looks mangy.” At that, my head shot around to Hardin, who was glaring down at Roscoe. “What’s wrong with his fur?”
“Hardin,” Leo clipped angrily, rising to his feet at the same time Jed turned bewildered eyes to his grandson, issuing a warning of, “Boy. Watch yourself.”
“It’s fine,” I offered. “He does have crazy fur. That’s part of why I got him. He’s super sweet.” My grin wobbled a little bit as I focused back on Hardin. “Do you want to pet him?”
I could see the indecision in his eyes, and I found myself holding my breath in anticipation, but instead of falling into Roscoe’s snare, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and took a step back. “No thanks. I’m not a dog person.”
Ouch.
Macie gave her brother an incredulous look. “What are you talking about? You love dogs.”
He might love dogs, but it was obvious he hated me, therefore, he wanted nothing to do with Roscoe.
The knowledge that the boy I’d come to care about so much hated me was like a white-hot poker stabbing into my chest. That burn I’d been feeling for far too many days hit the backs of my eyes again, and I had to fight to hold the tears in.
“That’s all right.” My words came out in a raspy croak.
“I should get inside. I’m sure my mom’s dinner is getting cold.
” I twisted to my car and opened the passenger door, pulling out the containers of cookies.
I moved toward Jed and passed him one, keeping my gaze toward the ground.
I was quickly losing my battle against the oncoming tears and had to get out of there fast. “Um, these are for you guys.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he said softly, his voice so gentle it made my fight even harder.
I might have intended to give the cookies to Jed, but I’d baked and packed them with that whole family in mind whether I’d been willing to admit it to myself or not.
“I made a variety. Peanut butter for you and Macie, chocolate chip for Leo, and, um . . .” I cleared my throat trying to rid it of the lump that had suddenly formed, “snickerdoodle for Hardin. All your favorites.”
I felt something pouring off Leo just then, something so strong and so overwhelming it made it hard for me to breath. I gave Roscoe’s leash a tug, and he pranced over to join me.
“Hope you guys like them,” I mumbled to the ground. “See you around.” With that, I spun around and bolted just as the first tear fell.
Leo
“Hardin,” I called out as soon as the door to my dad’s place closed behind us. Macie kept going toward the kitchen, but my boy stopped, turning to face me. I held out my hand, saying, “Gimme your phone.”
“What? Why?”
“Because you’re grounded. That means no phone. And when we get home, no PlayStation, no TV, and no laptop.”
“Are you serious?” he cried. “What for?”
I gave him a bland look, pulling in a breath and counting to ten slowly to keep my anger in check.
“You know exactly why,” I answered quietly.
“You wanna be mad at me, that’s your business.
I’ve laid it out for you, I’ve explained everything, so it’s on you whether or not you want to grow the hell up and start acting like a man.
But what I won’t tolerate ever is listening to you disrespect a woman who’s never been anything but good to you.
Now give me your phone and get your stuff. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
His face grew an unnatural shade of red, and I was gearing up for a fight, but he surprised me by pulling out his phone and slapping it into my hand before whipping around and stormed off without a word. But I didn’t miss the look of shame that flitted across his face before he disappeared.
I let out a sigh once he was gone and stuffed the phone in my pocket as my father spoke up.
“Don’t know what happened between you and Dani or how it got messed up, son, but I’ve heard stories. Whatever you did, I suggest you fix it.”
I turned my exhausted gaze to my dad. “I’m tryin’. It’s not that easy.”
“Then try harder,” he insisted. “’Cause I can tell you now, you weren’t the only one who benefited from havin’ that woman in your life. Those kids need that kind of light just as bad as you do.”
After that shot, he turned and followed after the kids, leaving me rattled at just how right he was.